Saturday Night Live paid tribute Saturday night to veteran talent manager Sandy Wernick, whose early work with Lorne Michaels helped pave the way for the show’s creation.
An in memoriam card honoring Wernick appeared at the end of the episode, just before the show’s traditional goodnights.
Wernick—who died Thursday at age 86—was managing Michaels in the mid-1970s when he introduced the young producer to NBC executive Dick Ebersol. That meeting ultimately led to the creation of NBC’s Saturday Night, which debuted in 1975 and later became Saturday Night Live. Wernick was also involved in packaging the series in its early days.
Over the years Wernick maintained deep ties to the SNL orbit, representing several cast members and creative figures connected to the show, including Adam Sandler, David Spade, Tim Herlihy, Rob Schneider, Colin Quinn and longtime production designer Akira “Leo” Yoshimura.
He was best known as Sandler’s longtime manager, having signed the future SNL star before his run on the show. Wernick also served as an executive producer on most of Sandler’s films, including Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer and Bulletproof. Sandler even based his 2017 flm Sandy Wexler on Wernick.
Beyond management, Wernick helped develop and produce numerous television projects, including co-creating and executive producing Def Comedy Jam. He was also involved in packaging series such as The Muppet Show, The Larry Sanders Show, NewsRadio, ALF, Politically Incorrect, Just Shoot Me and The Sopranos.
Saturday night’s on-screen tribute served as a nod to a behind-the-scenes figure whose influence on Saturday Night Live dates back to the conversations that first brought the show to NBC.
Rest in peace, legend